Wednesday 5 May 2010

Recycling Toothbrushes

Peter Gostev, Management Studies Student at the University of Nottingham), won second prize in the Student Venture Challenge 2010 for his business pitch on biodegradable toothbrushes;

‘Around 4.5million kg of toothbrushes are disposed of each year – the equivalent of 3,700 Minis, 1.6million laptops or 1,000 elephants. The vast majority of these toothbrushes end up in landfill and take thousands of years to decompose.’

There’s no reason why today’s (mostly non-biodegradable) toothbrush can’t be used tomorrow. All it takes is a little creative thinking. I asked my friends what they did with theirs:

  • ‘Hair dying (great for home highlights) and cleaning.’ Anne Louise Hansen
  • ‘Art work-painting and inks.’ Kath Galley‘
  • 'I just cleaned the filter of my pond with one ’ Claire Francis
  • 'They are really good for cleaning your gem's and even better are the vibrating ones’. Custard Armistead Walton
  • ‘Getting dog poo out of the grooves in the kids trainers – yuk!’ Bridget Hart
  • ‘Remove the bristles, immerse in boiling water for a couple of minutes and bend then round jam jars to make kids bangles or links of a chain. Cleaning shoes especially where sole meets shoe, the steamed milk nozzle on coffee machines, threaded or greasy mechanical parts.’ Kay Hammond

If you are thinking of any other uses please take the time to leave a comment; it could save landfill from another dreaded toothbrush!